Stopper for self-opening can

ABSTRACT

A stopper for a metal beverage can provided with an easy opening or ring-pull top. The stopper includes an inner clamp member adapted at one rotated position to be insertable through the opening in the can and upon being rotated and being brought up tight against the underside of the top of the can to bring an upper seal member into sealing engagement with the top of the can to seal the opening.

United States Patent Dan Blechman 1200 N. State St., Los Angeles, Cali. 90033 [21] Appl. No. 756,524

[22] Filed Aug. 30, 1968 [45] Patented May 11, 1971 [72] Inventor [54] STOPPER FOR SELF-OPENING CAN 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl, 220/25 865d 45/00 Field of Search 220/24, 25,

51; 220/24 (U), 25 (T), 25 (D) [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,019,950 2/1962 Callegari 220/ 25X 3,071 ,286 1/1963 Valvano 220/51 3,158,279 1 1/1964 Callegari 220/24 Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance Att0mey-Hauke, Gifford 8:. Patalidis ABSTRACT: A stopper for a metal beverage can provided with an easy opening or ring-pull top. The stopper includes an inner clamp member adapted at one rotated position to be insertable through the opening in the can and upon being rotated and being brought up tight against the underside of the top of the can to bring an upper seal member into sealing engagernent with the top of the can to seal the opening.

Patented May 11, 1971 f v 3,578,198

. 7 4 3a 27 mvemoa 2e DAN BLECHMAN MW/M Wwfi ATTORNEYS STOPPER FOR SELF-OPENING CAN BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to stoppers for metal containers and more particularly to a means for sealing an opened easy open or ring-pull metal beverage can or the like.

2. Description of the Prior Art In recent years easy-opening or ring-pull metallic beverage containers or cans have replaced a large portion of the glass bottles formerlyused for such products. There are many advantages to the use of such containers over the more conven: tional glass bottles but prior to the present disclosure there has been at least one serious disadvantage. Although stoppers have long been provided for glass bottles with all types of tops until the present time, to my knowledge at least, there have been no similar devices to close the openings of ring-pull or easy-opening metal cansWithout such devices if the entire contents of the can are not consumed the beverage will become stale and lose its flavor.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention provides such a device and includes a clamp member rotatably mounted to a shaft and in one position is insertable through the irregularly-shaped opening formed in these types of cans. Upon insertion the clamp member is rotated to a position straddling the opening and a spring urges it against the underside of the top of the can and a seal member, which completely closes the opening, against the top of the can. A plunger is provided to depress the spring and finger receiving portions provided on the seal member on each side of the plunger permit the device to be grasped between the first two fingers and to be actuated by the thumb to either position the stopper on the can or to remove it from the top of the can.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention including its many advantages will become more apparent upon reference to the following description. The description makes reference to the accompanying drawing in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view illustrating a stopper device of the present invention being illustrated just prior to attachment to a can;

7 FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of FIG. I;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. I but illustrating the device in the attached position;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially on line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially on line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Now referring to the drawing for a more detailed description of the present invention a preferred can stopper has a shaft 12 at one end of which is fixed a rectangular clamp member 14. A sea] member 16 is provided with a hole I9 which receives the shaft 12 so that the seal member 16 is movable axially along the shaft 12 and the shaft 12 and clamp member 14 are rotatable with respect to seal member 16.

The end of the shaft 12 opposite the clamp member 14 is provided with a plunger 18 which also acts as the seat for a spring 20. The opposite end of the spring 20 acts towards the upper face of the seal member 16 to urge the seal member I6 against the clamp member 14.

The seal member 16 is substantially rectangular but is larger than the clamp member I4 and is provided at one end with an arcuate crimped section 22 adapted to engage the rim 24 of a metal beverage can 26 so that the seal member 16 will fit flat against the upper surface of the top 27 of the can 26.

The seal member 16 is also provided with curved upwardly extending portions 28 on opposite sides which provide means for receiving the fingers of the user. With index finger and middle finger of the user positioned beneath the portions 28 the plunger 18 can be manipulated by the thumb. In this way the plunger 18 can be depressed to separate the clamp member 14 and theseal member 16. I

With the plunger 18 depressed and with the clamp member 14 positioned with its long axis parallel to the long axis of the irregularly-shaped opening 30 formed in the top of the can 26 as can be best seen in FIG. I, which illustrates a general shape of the opening produced in such cans upon removal of the pull tab (not shown) provided for this purpose, the clamp member I4 is dimensioned to be insertable through the opening 30 when aligned in this manner but to straddle the opening and have its end sections engage the underside of the top 27 of the can when rotated as shown FIG. 3.

With plunger 18 depressed and clamp member l4-positioned as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the device is moved to the right to bring the crimped section 22 over the rim 24 of the can 26. The plunger 18 is then rotated to bring the clamp member 14 to the position illustrated in FIGS. 3-5 so that when the plunger 18 is released the seal member 16 will be urged downwardly against the upper surface of the top 27 of the can 26 and the clamp member 14 will be urged upwardly against the underside of the top of the can to thereby securely clamp the device in sealing position.

The seal member 16 is of course sufficiently larger than the opening 30 to ensure complete covering thereof and can be made of a resilient material or coated with such material to ensure good sealing characteristics. It is not necessary for the clamp member 14 to be constructed of such material but it is preferred that it be at least coated with some inert material that will not chemically react with the contents of the can.

It is apparent that l have described a device useful in resealingring-pull or easy-opening metal cans. While only a single preferred embodiment of the invention has been described many modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed by the scope of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. In combination with an easy opening can having atop and a circumferential rim, said top being provided with an irregularly-shaped opening formed by removal of a prepunched ring-pull closure; a stopper for sealing said irregularly-shaped opening comprising:

a sealing plate adapted to overlie said irregular-shaped opening and provided at one end with a segmental crimped flange portion;

a shaft member reciprocably extending through said sealing plate substantially at its center;

said shaft member provided at one end with a plunger disposed above said plate and at the other end with a clamp member adapted for insertion through said opening;

said clamp member being shaped to permit insertion through said irregularly-shaped opening when rotated in one position and having a flat surface for abutment against the inside of said top when rotated to another position to prevent removal of said clamp member from said opening;

a biasing means disposed on said shaft between said plunger and said sealing plate to urge said sealing plate towards said clamping member;

said segmental crimped flange portion of said sealing plate being adapted for locking engagement with said rim of said top after insertion of said clamp member through said opening to permit said biasing means to urge said sealing plate flat against said top to completely cover said irregularly-shaped opening and to prevent displacment-of said sealing plate from its sealing position over said openmg.

2. The combination as defined in claim I in which said sealirig plate is provided with finger grip means at opposite sides of said plunger to permit manipulation of said plunger during inv stallation or removal of said stopper.

3. The combination as defined in claim 2 in which said finger grip means comprises opposite, upstanding flange portions extending from the sides of said sealing plate each of the sealing surface of said sealing plate is made of a resilient material.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. Dated May 1 l, 197].

Inventor(s) Dan Blechman It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 68, after "acts delete "towards" and insert a.ga inst-- Column 1, line 70, after "16" delete "against" and insert towards- Signed and. sealed this 28th day of September 1971.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M. FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCI-IALK Attesting Officer Acting Commissioner of Patents FORM O-1050 (10-69) USCOMM-DC 6J$75-P$1 A U 5 GOVERNMENT PRINTING "369 \-35l5-J34 

1. In combination with an easy opening can having a top and a circumferential rim, said top being provided with an irregularlyshaped opening formed by removal of a prepunched ring-pull closure; a stopper for sealing said irregularly-shaped opening comprising: a sealing plate adapted to overlie said irregular-shaped opening and provided at one end with a segmental crimped flange portion; a shaft member reciprocably extending through said sealing plate substantially at its center; said shaft member provided at one end with a plunger disposed above said plate and at the other end with a clamp member adapted for insertion through said opening; said clamp member being shaped to permit insertion through said irregularly-shaped opening when rotated in one position and having a flat surface for abutment against the inside of said top when rotated to another position to prevent removal of said clamp member from said opening; a biasing means disposed on said shaft between said plunger and said sealing plate to urge said sealing plate towards said clamping member; said segmental crimped flange portion of said sealing plate being adapted for locking engagement with said rim of said top after insertion of said clamp member through said opening to permit said biasing means to urge said sealing plate flat against said top to completely cover said irregularly-shaped opening and to prevent displacment of said sealing plate from its sealing position over said opening.
 2. The combination as defined in claim 1 in which said sealing plate is provided with finger grip means at opposite sides of said plunger to permit manipulation of said plunger during installation or removal of said stopper.
 3. The combination as defined in claim 2 in which said finger grip means comprises opposite, upstanding flange portions extending from the sides of said sealing plate each of which culminating in oppositely outwardly and downwardly curved portions for engagement by the fingers of a user.
 4. The combination as defined in claim 1 in which at least the sealing surface of said sealing plate is made of a resilient material. 